It should be crystal clear that a high school football player is good enough for the position at South Carolina.

“He’s got to be the best player on the field,” Bentley said. “If he’s not, he’s not going to be a great SEC player. It’s that simple.”

Perhaps that’s why it didn’t take long to identify Rico Dowdle as a priority recruiting target. About a week after Bentley arrived at South Carolina with coach Will Muschamp, Dowdle — a quarterback from A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, N.C. — had an offer.